Cooking | Dolly Domestic

Archive for Cooking – Page 2

Have you ever wondered what the dates on your food mean?

By Valerie

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

“Sell by July 31″ or “Use by October 19, 2010″?

I’ve seen articles on this before, and appreciated the info, so I’m going to pass some of this along…

Dating on non-perishable food

According to the USDA, most of the dates on food sold at stores in the USA are not related to safety. They are used to help the stores determine how long to display the product, and for consumers they are used to indicate the ‘best quality’ deadline.

The USDA’s recommendation for products marked with a “use-by” date, is to follow that as a guideline. (I’ve also read that the use-by date is a safety date, but the USDA specifically says its not.)

Dating products is only required on infant formula and some baby products, it’s not required on normal pantry items. That said, Kraft, Pillsbury and the like don’t want you to buy or use one of their products and be disappointed, so the ‘best if used by’ dates make sense from a quality control standpoint. It’s sort of shocking in this day and age that there isn’t a requirement for a safety date on pantry items. Some states do mandate expiration dates on eggs.

If, however, you’re pinching pennies, most of those products are perfectly safe to use. I will say, from my own experience, you don’t want to eat peanut butter that’s too far past it’s “best by” date… EW! Won’t hurt you, but it doesn’t taste good either. Ditto for mayonnaise.

When it comes to baking mixes, the biggest issue when using one past it’s “best by” date, is that the leavening is likely to be kaput. For most cake mixes, muffin mixes, etc., you can safely add a teaspoon of baking powder without altering the flavor and you’re good to go.

Older foods, particular those with oils in them can develop an ‘off’ odor or flavor when kept too long.

If the packaging (can, box, etc.) has been compromised, and especially if a can is bulging or seeping. Throw it out! Don’t ever risk your health on such in inexpensive item. (Most canned goods cost less than a buck or two.)

For more information about shelf-life and product dating, please visit: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/food_product_dating/index.asp

Categories : Cooking, Saving Money

Tags : best buy date, best-by, food expiration dates, use by date, use-by

White House Chef

By Valerie

Monday, January 4th, 2010

white house cook book On seeing the news about the upcoming iron chef challenge with White House Chef Cristeta Comerford, I had to wonder: Does she use any of the recipes left behind from previous chefs?

I was fortunate to pick up a copy of The Original White House Cookbook 1887 Edition (reprint) at a yard sale in Ohio over the summer. In addition to being very interesting reading and learning a bit about the challenges of the day, there are plenty of obscure hints, such as:

To preserve Brooms: Dip them for a minute or two in a kettle of boiling suds once a week and they will last much longer, making them tough and pliable. A carpet wears much longer swept wtih a broom cared for in this manner.

I’m not so worried about carpet wear… don’t think I’ve swept my carpets in recent memory. I’d be more likely to bash a lightbulb trying to finagle the broom into a pot!

Then there are the interesting recipes for a variety of meats such as squirrel and snipe. Most of the “recipes” are really just brief instructions:

Page 89: Squirrel

They are cooked similar to rabbits, are excellent when broiled or made into a stew, and, in fact, are very good inall the different styles of cooking similar to rabbit.

There are many species common to this country; among them the black, red, gray and fox. Gophers and chipmunks may also be classified as another but smaller variety.

Now for a real recipe. From page 219

Virginia Corn Bread

Three cups of white corn-meal, one cup of flour, on tablespoon of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, two heaping teaspoonfuls of baking-powder, one tablespoonful of lard, three cups of milk and three eggs. Sift together the flour, corn meal, sugar, salt and baking-powder; rub in the lard cold, add the eggs well-beaten and then the milk. Mix into a moderately stiff batter; pour it into well-greased, shallow baking-pans, (pie-tins are suitable). Bake from thirty to forty minutes.

Categories : Cooking

Fabulous, Easy Corn Bread

By Valerie

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

This is one of the recipes that just works. It’s simple and tasty.

Corn Bread

1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 box Jiffy Golden Yellow Cake Mix (these can sometimes be hard to find, but Walmart usually has them)
+ ingredients to make both mixes

Prepare each box according to it’s own directions in separate bowls, then fold the batter together. Pour into a greased 9″x13″ pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Categories : Cooking

Simple Eggnog Recipe,

By Valerie

Friday, December 4th, 2009

This is a classic, non-alcoholic, recipe that my sister Becky taught me to make when we were kids. If you have issues with raw eggs, you may prefer the grocery store variety of eggnog. I’m sure the original recipe probably called for half-and-half or cream, but we just used whole milk, and that’s the way I like it. (I personally have to thin down store-bought eggnog.)

Into a blender, combine the following:

4 Eggs
¼ cups Granulated Sugar
3 cups Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
dash Salt

Blend on high until smooth, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with a dab of nutmeg for a garnish.

Serves 4

Categories : Cooking

Tags : eggnog, holiday, recipes

10 tips for a frugal thanksgiving dinner

By Valerie

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

Make turkey broth with your leftover turkey carcass
Save the celery tops and celery leaves from your stuffing to use in your turkey broth
Save the skins you peeled from your onions to use in your turkey broth (they add the color)
Take all other vegetable scraps and add to your compost bin (or start one!)
Freeze any leftover wine in ice cube trays to have on hand to add to soups and sauces (measure your ice cube tray so you’ll have an idea of the volume for later)
Freeze any uneaten vegetables to add to soup (you can make it with your broth)
Make potato pancakes with leftover mashed potatoes
Use leftover cranberry sauce on turkey sandwiches (trust me on this, it’s fabulous)
Save the crusts from sandwich bread over the year in the freezer and dice up to use to make stuffing (a bit late for this tip!)
Chop and freeze any turkey meat that you won’t use in the next few days. Portion into 2-cup quantities and vacuum seal or use zippable sandwich bags (suck the air out with a straw). Most casserole dishes (turkey a la king, turkey enchiladas, etc.) call for 2 cups cooked chicken or turkey. Be sure to mark them, a Sharpie® marker works great.